Oxford University

Match Report

As Cup-holders, Wanderers were exempted until the Final in this following year. Their challengers, Oxford University, had received a strange kind of bye in the semi-final when their opponents. Queen's Park, were unable to travel to London to play the tie.

The 1873 Final was staged for the one and only time in the history of the competition at the Lillie Bridge ground, which used to exist close to where famous Stamford Bridge stands now. The match was timed to start at 11 a.m. in order to avoid a clash with the Boat Race being held later the same day.

Wanderers won the Cup again, this time by two goals scored by Kinnaird and Wollaston. Kinnaird. later President of the Football Association, was making the first of his nine appearances in Cup Finals and dribbled through the Oxford team to score a spectacular second goal.

Arthur Fitzgerald Kinnaird, scorer of the 2nd goal in the 1873 Final

Oxford were able to call upon a number of the best footballers from the public schools, and with players like Vidal, Birley and Ottaway, were bound to make an impact on the competition. They were not at full strength against the Wanderers and perhaps not fully fit either, and they even elected to play without a goalkeeper - Kirke-Smith moving upfield - after going a goal down in a desperate attempt to save the match.